Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Hamasaki was raised as an only child by her mother and grandmother. Her father had left the family when she was three and never again came into contact with her.[10][11] Because her mother worked to support the family, Hamasaki was primarily taken care of by her grandmother.[10]At age seven, Hamasaki began modeling for local institutions, such as banks, to supplement the family's income. She continued this career path by leaving her family at fourteen and moving to Tokyo as a model under SOS, a talent agency.[10] Her modeling career did not last long; SOS eventually deemed her too short for a model and transferred her to Sun Music, a musicians' agency. Under the name of "Ayumi", Hamasaki released a rap EP, Nothing from Nothing, on the Nippon Columbia label in 1995. She was dismissed from the label when the album failed to chart on the Oricon.[12] After this failure, Hamasaki took up acting and starred in B-movies such as Ladys Ladys!! Sōcho Saigo no Hi and television dramas such as Miseinen, which were poorly received by the public.[11][13] From August 1995 to March 1996, Hamasaki also co-hosted the SoundLink "magazine" Hōkago no Ōsama (放課後の王様?, After-school King) for the Nintendo Satellaview once a week with Shigeru Izumiya.[14][15] Growing dissatisfied with her job, Hamasaki quit acting and moved in with her mother, who had recently moved to Tokyo.[10]